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Welcome to the Vehiges blog! We are a newlywed couple serving as Catholic missionaries with Family Missions Company. The Lord has called us to spread the Gospel and serve the poor. Join us on our journey!

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On Easter Sunday we had caroling angels come to the cottage for a visit. Listen to these angels sing!

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Celebrating Palm Sunday and our anniversary.

Happy Palm Sunday! We celebrated Palm Sunday in Cagayan De Oro at the Black Nazerno Church. Everyone lined up after mass with their palms for Father to come by and bless them with holy water. It was cool to see people all day carrying their palms around. The sidewalks outside of the church was filled with people selling nicely crafted palms.

After mass and the palms blessings we asked Father Jeffrey to give us a special blessing on our one year anniversary. We received a beautiful blessing in Visaya. It was a beautiful day of much needed rest as we prepare tomorrow to go to another city where all of the missionary families will gather for time together as a community. Please continue to pray for us this week as we come together. God bless!

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Happy Palm Sunday of the Passion of Our Lord from the Philippines

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College graduates!

We have been on Camiguin Island for 3 days. Currently we have one missionary serving here, Joanne. Joanne wanted to surprise all of our sponsored college students who just graduated with our visit. So she put together a beach outing, an afternoon retreat where the students could reflect on God's goodness the past four years. Thomas and I joining was a great surprise. Being able to hear their reflections on all that God has done in their lives was really beautiful. I taught these students in high school so to see their maturity and growth was really incredible.

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Traveling on the ferry from Camiguin Island, the island behind us. Camiguin is where Genevieve spent her first two years serving on mission.

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We have arrived.

We made it to the Philippines! Over 48 hours of travel we have arrived. Our first flight out of Houston was very delayed with caused all subsequent flights to be changed. We ended up flying from Taiwan to Hong Kong which was a fun surprise. When we finally flew from HK and made it to Cebu, PH on Saturday night we were ready to crash. Sunday we woke up at 3am to catch our 5am flight to Camiguin Island, only to find it was pushed back till 10am. Oh my! The thought of the sleep we could have had! As I tried to sleep on my backpack in the airport lobby I thought of Saint Paul when he was imprisoned and being escorted to Rome. There boat was shipwrecked for 14 days and ultimately the journey took 3 years. An angel appeared to St. Paul on the ship and told him their lives would be spared, God wanted him to go to Rome to testify before Ceasar. The Lord kept St. Paul safe but that doesn't mean the journey was easy. This helped put our journey in perspective, the gift that it is to be able to fly and easily go across the world. So 48 hours, 5 airports, 4 countries and 2 meal vouchers later I am grateful we are here. Plus I bet St. Paul didn't have Dunkin Donuts to munch on while he used the Wifi to update his blog as he waited in an air conditioned terminal for the next ship.

The view was quite beautiful at the Hong Kong airport!

Our arrival on Camiguin Island!

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It's take off time! We have a 20 hour flight ahead of us with one stop in Taipei, Taiwan. We are traveling with Joshua Seilhan who is going back to the Philippines to visit his sister who is going through chemo. We are excited about our pastoral visit to the Philippines, which one friend coined a "mission of encouragement".

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I had a blast today with Father Roimar's 11th & 12th grade classes! Father invited me to share my testimony and life in missions with his students. I love recounting the great work God has done in my life, it reminds me He wants to keep doing more! Thanks Pades! #fmcmissions (at San Isidro College)

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A very full morning with the boys today! Everyone helped cook breakfast together and then we attended noon mass. Eight of these boys are sponsored in school by us but still some of them sleep on the streets. Please pray for them that God would provide in mighty ways!! These boys truly need His miracles. #fmcmissions (at San Isidro Cathedral Malaybalay)

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Bible study tonight was filled with lots of singing and dancing! "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength." Deuteronomy 6:5 #fmcmissions (at Malaybalay, Bukidnon)

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Ran into my former student Margie on the bus, so crazy when I see my students and remember that I was a teacher at one point in my life! Crazy what God can do when you just say yes! (at Agora Integrated Bus Terminal)

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So blessed by your friendship Gina! (at Malaybalay, Bukidnon)

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Went to visit Diether's house today, thanks to @vanna__white benefactors his family is getting a new tin roof! Their roof was so old that every time it rained the house would flood. I am praying that this new roof will make their house a home that the family enjoys living together in. (at Impalutao, Bukidnon, Philippines)

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Chapel 🌺🌼🌸 (at Malaybalay, Bukidnon)

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A full day of ministry with the boys today ended with buying a catfish for dinner! #transfiguration (at Malaybalay, Bukidnon)

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An early morning dentist appointment never looked so fun! Thanks to awesome donors Marc Dave will be getting 13 teeth pulled and dentures! Enough funds were raised for his mom to also have dentures! God is so good! #fmcmissions (at Malaybalay, Bukidnon)

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Lunch date with Ella at Jollibee! It has been a year and half since Ella's surgery and she is doing so great. We were talking about her future and I told her God has a very special plan for her and she can ask Him to show her what He wants for her life. She said "I told Jesus I want to be a missionary and Jesus say 'You are a missionary'". I was so blessed to hear that because it is true. I asked her why she wants to be a missionary and she replied, "To help the people with no home and no food." So beautiful to see a young girl with such faith! #fmcmissions (at Jollibee Drive Thru, Malabalay City)